Moorish Idol Diet
They generally feed on brine shrimp and vegetable foods as their diet.
Moorish idol diet. Try to give them a variety of live marine foods. Food habits of moorish idol. Bob recommends keeping them in established reef quality very large tanks with non boisterous tankmates and plenty of room to retreat and hide.
This is the most difficult aspect of keeping this fish. They are omnivorous and they eat marine algae and sponges in the ocean. Potential choices for tankmates include chromis carnivorous grazers such as wrasses and cave dwellers such as more peaceful dottybacks.
Some are collecting local sponges pacific or atlantic temperate or tropical and offering them with great success. He reports observing successful specimens fed a pellet diet but encourages a range of foods including sponges which make up a significant portion of their diet in the wild. Offer them enough to eat and include sponges in their diet.
An appropriate diet for moorish idol in captivity should include a lot of things that it can eat. Diet foods. Usually it can eat anything but each individual has a unique taste.
Habitats of moorish idol. As i said before the most important problem in maintaining the moorish idol is its food. Frequent feedings will decrease if the fish is kept in a large pond with lots of algae and species.
These species are very selective while taking food but by nature they tend to be omnivorous. Their social skills are very unpredictable but they re usually social towards other fish with similar characteristics. Often seen alone moorish idols also form pairs or occasionally small schools especially as juveniles.
Typically the moorish idol is a moderately peaceful fish best kept with other non aggressive species. In nature the diet of this fish is composed especially sponges and to a lesser extent small invertebrates such as crustaceans gastropods and also abundant quantities of algae. Moorish like to graze but are very timid while eating in front of others.
Sponges coral polyps tunicates and other benthic invertebrates constitute the bulk of the moorish idol s diet. They are diurnal fish sticking to the bottom of the reef at night adopting a drab coloration. There are quite a number of moorish idol keepers who are relying on live sponge as a good portion of their fish s diet.
This keeps the dominant specimen from eating all of the food. When saying a lot i mean that the fish should be fed several times a day. Do not include any boisterous or aggressive tankmates.
Having plenty of live rock for them to graze on may help.